The Sultan, Alcohol, and Tolerance...

These days, turbaned and robed proselytizers are reportedly wandering through taverns again,

“Don't drink alcohol, come to the mosque,” they say.

What times we have fallen into, oh Lord.

These mindsets are even more backward than those of the Ottoman era. It is fair to say that this anachronistic mentality did not even exist in the 21st century during the Ottoman period.

Sultan Mehmed V Reşad, for example; he was a sultan who was the most conservative, the most deeply reactionary, who prayed five times a day, and who spent most of his time in the palace reading the Masnavi.

On March 5, 1910, Serbian King Peter I Karađorđević came to Istanbul. A dinner was held in his honor in the Ceremonial Hall at Yıldız Palace. The tables were adorned with the finest dishes. Everything was there. Alcohol was there, too.

Raki, wines, rums. All kinds of dishes according to the guests' wishes and various appetizers, lacking nothing but bird's milk.

The protocol was also at the dinner. Some deputies, members of the Senate, members of the Chamber of Deputies, etc. Ahmet Rıza Bey, as the President of the Chamber, was of course there as well. The Serbian King entered the hall together with Sultan Mehmed V Reşad. After greeting the protocol, they sat down for dinner. Chamber President Ahmet Rıza Bey also sat next to Sultan Mehmed V Reşad.

During the dinner, Ahmet Rıza Bey and the Sultan chatted for a while. Waiters were filling glasses with raki and wine. However, Ahmet Rıza Bey was not drinking out of respect for the Sultan. When Sultan Reşad saw that Ahmet Rıza Bey was not drinking wine, he offered it to him. When Ahmet Rıza Bey hesitated, thinking it would be “impolite,” the Sultan leaned over to his ear quietly and said;

-“Just knock it back.”

Upon this, Ahmet Rıza Bey drank his wine, raising a glass to the Sultan's health.

Today, those who invite people to a certain religious lifestyle and wander around taverns should know well that this bullying and coercion did not even exist during the time of the sultans.

Even the most conservative, Mehmed V Reşad, would offer wine to people.

This reactionism, unfortunately, has emerged today during the counter-revolution process.

I am not praising those who drink alcohol here.

But you cannot harass people's freedom of private life. That is what I am saying. Just as a drunkard cannot enter a mosque and invite you to drink, a robed person cannot go to a tavern and invite people to pray.

This is contrary to the “Freedom” principle of human rights.

Furthermore, “not touching a drop of alcohol, praying five times a day, and being a good Muslim” is not a moral or professional criterion.

The criterion is to be respectful and fair to people.

Bayezid I drank, Mehmed the Conqueror drank, and even Selim I drank. Even Suleiman the Magnificent had consumed alcohol in his early days.

Actually, the issue is not about drinking or not drinking. A raki table is generally a place for discussion and consultation. You know how you say, “So, what will become of this country?” after having a couple of drinks.

That is exactly what these narrow-minded people are afraid of.